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Mortgage
rateswere slightly lower again on Wednesday. Even though the day to day movements have been small, that gets us as close as we've been to the all-time lows seen in late September and early October, with a few exceptions depending on the lender. Best-Execution for Conventional 30yr Fixed Loans has arguably moved down to 3.25% at this point, though 3.375% is still prevalent depending on the lender and scenario.

US markets didn't do much at all by way of reacting to this morning's economic data, though the fact that it offered several negative employment anecdotes could be seen as a slight benefit for interest rates. To clarify, some of this morning's data contained weaker-than-expected readings on job creation. If that translates to weaker job creation in Friday's Employment Situation Report, it suggests a slowing economy which typically coincides with rates moving lower.

Rates are already quite low, of course, and markets are fairly preoccupied with broader issues such as Europe, Fed policy changes (or extensions of buying programs, as the case may be next week), and of course, the Fiscal Cliff. While weakness in Europe (due to a poorly received Spanish debt auction) started things off on a positive note for interest rates, the positivity continued as congressional leaders noted an absence of progress on the Fiscal Cliff. Later in the session, news circulated that "Republican defectors" were ready to support a compromise (read more), which reversed some of the previous market movements, but not sufficiently to prompt widespread negative reprices from lenders.

Loan Originator Perspectives

"When clients want to float while rates are great, I always ask if they
enjoy gambling. Most immediately answer no. That's when I remind them
that just because pricing has improved doesn't mean it will continue to
do so indefinitely. There's currently a huge dropoff on FHA/VA loans'
pricing between 3.25% and 3.125%. Markets WON'T improve enough to make
3.125% cost effective, and pricing at 3.25% is awesome, so there is NO
incentive to float. It's risk versus reward, and certainly more risk
than reward today, even if rates do improve slightly as the week goes
on." -Ted Rood, Senior Originator, Wintrust Mortgage.

Rates could easily move higher or lower, but given the nearness to
all time lows, there's generally more risk than reward regarding
floating

This will always be the case when rates operate near all-time levels,
and as 2011 showed us, it doesn't always mean they're done
improving.

(As always, please keep in mind that our talk of Best-Execution
always pertains to a completely ideal scenario. There can be all
sorts of reasons that your quoted rate would not be the same as our
average rates, and in those cases, assuming you're following along on a
day to day basis, simply use the Best-Ex levels we quote as a baseline to
track potential movement in your quoted rate).

About the Author

A former originator, Matthew began writing for Mortgage News Daily in 2007, covering a wide range of topics. Seeing a need in the marketplace, his focus increasingly shifted toward relating MBS and broader financial markets for loan originators.
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